[2] She was a graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and then went on to teach art at Bowie High School.

[7][8] She left Juárez in 2011 when there was a large amount of violence in the city and when she was personally targeted by sicarios (assassins) who noticed that her truck had Texas license plates.

[5][9] After leaving Mexico, she continued to create art, calling her next exhibition of paintings, Immigrant Pilgrims, her "revenge" on those who drove her out of her home in the colonia.

"[10] Some of her work was influenced by Aztec themes, such as those displayed on La Avenida de los Aztecas and in the Tourist Information Center for Chamizal in Juárez.

[11] Gándara's final work was a tiled sculpture at her own home in Central El Paso based on St. Francis of Assisi.